DPP lawmakers accuse legislative committee of bias

By Flora Wang / STAFF REPORTER

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) and Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) yesterday criticized the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for referring Chiu to the legislature’s Discipline Committee and including a proposal to suspend Kuan in tomorrow’s plenary agenda, while stalling proposals to punish two KMT lawmakers.

Chiu said that the pan-blue-controlled Procedure Committee’s decision to discipline her and Kuan showed that the KMT would attack whoever acted against its will.

Chiu said she was not surprised that the Procedure Committee approved the KMT caucus’ proposal that she be referred to the Discipline Committee.

At a separate setting yesterday, Kuan accused the Procedure Committee of trying to clear the “roadblocks” to giving recognition to Chinese education credentials and accepting Chinese students.

“I have been the KMT’s prime enemy for my relentless questioning of government policy. They may be able to take a break after suspending me,” Kuan said.

The KMT caucus proposed referring Chiu to the Discipline Committee after a verbal and physical altercation between Chiu and KMT Legislator Lee Ching-hua (李慶華) on Wednesday last week.

During a meeting of the Internal Administration Committee for cross-strait negotiators to brief the legislature ahead of the third round of cross-strait talks, Chiu slapped Lee after h had challenged her to hit him and called her a “shrew.”

The Procedure Committee also voted in favor of putting the Discipline Committee’s suggestion that Kuan be suspended for a period of three months to a vote tomorrow. The Discipline Committee, composed of 15 KMT lawmakers, reached the decision during a closed-door meeting on Jan. 9.

The committee initiated the proposal after Kuan allegedly slapped KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) in the face during a review of the National Science Council’s budget request on Oct. 22. Kuan slapped Hung after the KMT legislator hurt one of Kuan’s assistants while trying to push a poster to one side. The legislature did not refer Hung to the Discipline Committee.

Although the Procedure Committee approved the proposals against Chiu and Kuan, it shelved the DPP caucus’ proposal to mete out punishment to Lee and another proposal to punish KMT Legislator Lu Chia-chen (盧嘉辰).

Lu came under fire last month for saying that Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) suffered a stroke because of bad karma after dismantling a statue of dictator ­Chiang Kai-shek in Kaohsiung.

DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) told reporters yesterday her caucus would do its best to boycott the proposal against Kuan tomorrow.

Despite the criticism, KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) said even if it was unavoidable that lawmakers would get into heated exchanges on the legislative floor, legislators should never resort to physical violence against their colleagues.